“More than an energy crisis, Cuba is suffering an energy blockade,” she said, referring to the threat of customs reprisals against all countries that fail to supply fuel to the island. This has further intensified the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States for more than 67 years.

She pointed out that the energy blockade severely affects the daily lives of the population, impacting services such as electricity, drinking water, healthcare, education, and transportation, among other hardships.

Regarding relations with the United States, the diplomat, who holds the rank of ambassador, reaffirmed Cuba’s willingness to engage in dialogue and to defend its sovereignty and self-determination in the face of external pressures. “We are a state under attack and subjected to an economic blockade; we are struggling to move forward in the midst of a tremendous, brutal, multidimensional war,” she said.

She added that the great power that is the United States “is imposing a criminal blockade on us today and is also subjecting our people to collective punishment.” Despite this, the Cuban Chargé d’Affaires said her country is confident that it will overcome this situation, as it has done before.

“We are convinced that our people, the vast majority of whom support our revolutionary government, will resist and prevail; we are confident that this situation will be resolved,” she asserted. jdt/rc/mrs